ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 09: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys rushes the ball during the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at AT&T Stadium on October 9, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 09: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys rushes the ball during the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at AT&T Stadium on October 9, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) leaps into the end zone seating after scoring a touchdown on a long run in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) leaps into the end zone seating after scoring a touchdown on a long run in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Oct.

Cowboys' Garrett will keep feeding Elliott as he chases Dickerson's record

1 / 18

Back to Gallery

You might have caught it several times over the past three Sundays, the image of Ezekiel Elliott dolloping an invisible, bottomless bowl of carries into his mouth.

The running back’s pantomime is always fixed in the direction of Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, the man serving the portions.

Elliott has turned gluttonous, craving more and more touches as he knifes through opposing defenses. Garrett (mostly) obliges him.

“He’s just a really good football player,” Garrett said Sunday following the Cowboys’ 28-14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. “We keep saying he’s getting better and better every week. He was pretty good the first week and he has gotten better and he has taken advantage of his opportunities. He’s a young player who goes about it the right way. He loves to play football. He’s very passionate about it. We all see that and it shows up in his productivity.”

Through five weeks, Elliott has more rushing attempts (109), more yards (546), more first downs (31) and more runs of 20 or more yards (5) than any player in the NFL.

After gaining 134 yards on the ground Sunday, Elliott became the first Cowboys rookie to run for at least 100 in three straight games.

Only Eric Dickerson (645 in 1983), Adrian Peterson (607 in 2007) and Billy Sims (560 in 1980) had more rushing yards through their first five contests. Dickerson is in the Hall of Fame, Peterson is headed there, and Sims was on a similar trajectory before injuries derailed his career.

As a sole entity, Elliott has more rushing yards than 23 teams. He has gained 116 more yards on the ground than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense.

He’s earned encouragement from LeBron James and Emmitt Smith and even cantankerous troll Skip Bayless, who would delightedly disparage a toddler if it resulted in a ratings boon.

The ex-Buckeye has traded texts with Dickerson, playfully noting that he’s “getting close” to the Hall of Famer’s NFL rookie rushing record of 1,808 yards. Elliott needs to average a tick over 105 yards per game the remainder of the season to eclipse the goggled one.

“You’ve got a long way to go,” Dickerson replied, according to the Los Angeles Times.